Various methods have heretofore been suggested for measuring the cut yield of forage crop materials at specific locations within the field as the cut materials pass through the machine that severs them from the ground. However, due to the unique nature of forage crop materials and the many variables that exist in the size, shape and density of the stalks, stems, and mat or stream moving through the machine, it is extremely difficult to determine actual cut yield in meaningful units of measurement with any degree of accuracy. At best, the data obtained from prior methods could thus only be relied upon to provide the user with yield information in relative terms, i.e., a comparison of the volume in one part of the crop materials stream with another. Furthermore, measurement of yield for baled forage crop materials needs to be determined when the forage is dry, not as cut yield, because baled forage is sold as dry matter.
Conventionally, dry yield can be averaged over the entire field by measuring the weight of the finished bale(s) and dividing that number by a value for the surface area actually harvested. This gives a total dry yield per unit area, e.g., tons per acre, but does not answer the question of where the yield came from within the field. In order to improve the preciseness of crop fertilization techniques and other agronomic practices, it is critical that dry yield data be available for specific locations with the field, not just as an average over the total area of the field.
Complicating matters is the fact that the crop cutting (windrowing) and baling operations are carried out by different machines at different times in the harvest cycle. Moreover, the separate operations of windrowing, raking and baling can result in the forage materials being moved substantial distances from their original starting points, particularly where the materials are being prepared for baling by large rectangular balers which require that several small windrows be combined into one large windrow to achieve optimum baler efficiency.
The present invention overcomes the deficiencies and complicating factors of the prior art and provides a way of obtaining dry yield measurements for baled forage at specific cut locations within the field.